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the book is forthcoming. by Danyel Smith. a history of black women in pop. from It Books/HarperCollins (2014). now writing. tumbling this stuff keeps me inspired, and keeps my brain sane.
“My vision was to fill a void in the marketplace…En Vogue is the Supremes of the ’90s—with the glamorous look and up on a pedestal. TLC is at the other end, with the street-oriented, hip-hop image and real down-to-earth. But there are no big groups in the middle, like the Emotions and the Vandellas—groups that represent things the Supremes don’t, and aren’t totally hip-hop. What I wanted was a marriage between the glamour image and street image—with women who seem accessible to the urban community…We were set on a trio, because if a group is bigger it’s too complex…We wanted women the same size and in their early to mid-20s. If they were a lot older and very experienced, they wouldn’t be as flexible and able to adapt to our concept. I had this image set…Musically, we wanted women capable of singing lead. Finding women who fit into this package was a tall order.” —Cassandra Mills, 1993 The former president of Giant Records’ black music division is pictured above, center/top, with Giant artists, Jade.

“My vision was to fill a void in the marketplace…En Vogue is the Supremes of the ’90s—with the glamorous look and up on a pedestal. TLC is at the other end, with the street-oriented, hip-hop image and real down-to-earth. But there are no big groups in the middle, like the Emotions and the Vandellas—groups that represent things the Supremes don’t, and aren’t totally hip-hop. What I wanted was a marriage between the glamour image and street image—with women who seem accessible to the urban community…We were set on a trio, because if a group is bigger it’s too complex…We wanted women the same size and in their early to mid-20s. If they were a lot older and very experienced, they wouldn’t be as flexible and able to adapt to our concept. I had this image set…Musically, we wanted women capable of singing lead. Finding women who fit into this package was a tall order.”

—Cassandra Mills, 1993

The former president of Giant Records’ black music division is pictured above, center/top, with Giant artists, Jade.

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